Jobs surge welcomed by Australian Chamber

13 Sep 2018 |

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has welcomed news from the Australian Bureau of Statistics today that total jobs surged by 44,000 in August, following a decrease of 4,280 in July. 33,750 full-time jobs were created in August after an increase of about 20,000 in July. The unemployment rate remained at 5.3%.

“This is a great result but we are going to need to see a few more like this before the RBA starts thinking of a rate hike. Inflation is low and wage growth is subdued – the fact is that if either is going to pick up in a meaningful way, then underemployment rates still need to come down much more sharply,” Australian Chamber Chief Economist, Adam Carr, said today.

“Underemployment fell to 8.1% in August, the best result in four years.

“That’s a good strong fall in underemployment, sure, but 8.1% is still far too high – before the GFC rates were in the 6’s. That’s where we need to get to.

“We’re heading in the right direction, but policymakers can do much more to support growth, create jobs and boost wages.

“Falls in business and consumer confidence reported this week point to the fact that the political goings-on in Canberra have come at the expense of policies to boost business and support jobs, both short and long-term”.

“A holistic energy policy to get costs down, reliability up and keep us on our emissions reduction track with bipartisan support, and the support of the states is but one important example. Bringing forward tax cuts for small, medium and family businesses that have already passed the Parliament is another.”

Duncan Bremner

Director - Public Affairs and Advocacy

P  |  0448 822 666

E  |  [email protected]

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